This invention relates to apparatus for hanging clothes in a closet and, more particularly, to an auxiliary clothes hanging system adapted to be supported on a conventional main clothes closet hanger bar fixedly mounted in a conventional manner in a conventional closet space.
At the present time, the majority of clothes closets in homes, offices and other buildings comprise one or more main hanger rod members of circular cross-section which are fixedly mounted on the side walls or under a platform and extend across one side of the closet in upwardly spaced relationship to the closet floor. The distance of the hanger rod above the floor of the closet generally varies between five to six feet to accommodate varying length garments such as outer coats, dresses, shirts, pants, etc. Thus, the location of the hanger rod is such as to accommodate the longest length garment and shorter length garments are located well above the floor whereby a substantial amount of closet space may be unused. Furthermore, children and handicapped persons confined to wheel chairs are unable to reach the main hanger rod.
The purpose of this invention is to provide an auxiliary hanger bar system which may be mounted on the conventional main hanger bar to better utilize the closet space and enable children and handicapped persons to reach an auxiliary hanger rod suspended on the main hanger rod by auxiliary hanger bar members. While the general concept has been known heretofore, at the present time there appears to be no commercially available auxiliary hanger bar systems nor is there any evidence that any such prior art systems may have been successfully commercially exploited.
Among the important features of the present invention are the following: (1) rigidity and strength of the component parts; (2) ease of manufacture and assembly of the component parts; (3) adaptability and variability in use of the component parts; (4) low cost of manufacture and packaging of the component parts; (5) retention of the parts after assembly in assembled position; (6) safety of the apparatus in use; (7) packaging of parts in relatively small size compact containers; and (8) assembly of parts and mounting of assembly without change of existing closet structure and without requiring assembly tools.
In general, the invention comprises at least one pair of identically shaped elongated one piece molded plastic hanger bar members. Each hanger bar member has a mounting opening at one end for pivotal association with a main closet hanger rod to enable the hanger bar to hang vertically downwardly from the main closet hanger rod and at least one auxiliary rod opening in the main body portion for supporting one end portion of a rigid auxiliary hanger rod in vertically downwardly spaced relationship to the main closet hanger rod. Separate one piece fastener devices are mounted on the end portions of the auxiliary hanger rod to releasably connect the auxiliary hanger rod to each of the hanger bar members.